My name is Emily and about a year ago I was diagnosed with preeclampsia. My blood pressure was really high and my doctor put me on a few different medicationss to counteract it, but nothing helped... it just got worse and my dose was upped again and again. This went on for about three months before we lost our daughter. I was 7.5 months along. my husband and I want to start trying again, but I'm really frightened that this will happen again and I'm not so sure that I'm strong enough to bury an other child.

Hello all,
We lost our son Noah at birth, at 38 weeks. He was born and died May 10, 2013.
Noah is our fourth baby. Â I have a history of pre eclampsia and had all of the warning signs. With Noah I had severe pre eclampsia and left undiagnosed and therefor untreated, I had a full placental abruption.Â
I almost died as well, but thankfully another Angel was there that day. The doctor who saved my... Read More

Hi: my name is Michelle Stewart and I am a survior of Preeclampsia.Â
I was 26 weeks pregnant with my baby boy Jayson Grady Stewart when I noticed my hands where very swollen.Â This was my first pregnancy and I thought it was normal. I called my doctor and set up a time later in the day to be checked out.Â When I got to the doctor's office they took my blood pressure three times all coming out to 180/100.Â The nurse sent me straight to the hospital.Â
I had never heard of Preeclampsia so I thought it was no big deal that they strapped me up and took my blood pressure for hours.Â I wasn't worried, I just thought they may put me on bed rest.Â When they... Read More

My husband and I tried for over 2 years to get pregnant. We were told we would need to proceed with IVF.Â So we had 3 embryos implanted and 1 of them matured into an exciting pregnancy for us. I was due on November 4, 2010. At 26 weeks of my pregnancyÂ on July 27, 2013,Â I was at work and not feeling so great. My legs/ankles were very swollen but nothing else swelled. I was experiencing some vision problems. I went to my mom's office at the time she worked for an OB-GYN so one of the nurses could take my BP. Well it was extremely high. The OB/Gyn at her office told the nurse to run a urine test for my protein level. My levels were 7,000. I was immediately admitted into the... Read More

Our story starts out like most of them.
We found out we were pregnant, and were very happy. We researched birthing options, and decided to have a birth center birth with a midwife. We went to all of our prenatal visits, and everything always checked out healthy and our pregnancy was "textbook"... until it wasn't.
Around 32 weeks I noticed severe swelling. So much swelling... Read More

Our first child, Ellie Katherine, was born on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 5:02 am via c-section. She was 4 pounds, 4 ounces, and 16 and 1/2 inches long and was born at 37 weeks gestation. Her birth was a total whirlwind, but I'll start with what was happening a week before she was born. I went for my 36-week checkup and I had elevated blood pressure and protein in my urine. I was also swollen beyond recognition. All three of these symptoms are characteristic of preeclampsia, and I had protein in my urine for several weeks in a row by now. Ellie's heartbeat was good and my belly measured normal, so the doctor had me lay down for about half an hour and then came back and did my blood... Read More

Two blue lines. When a woman is trying to get pregnant that is about all she can think about. For me, it became an obsession in fact. My husband, Matthew, and I had been married for almost a year when we decided we wanted to try getting pregnant. Before any attempts were made on our behalf I went to my OBGYN for a preconception check-up. My exam and lab work revealed I was healthy and had the green light to try. Despite this reassurance from my physician that I was healthy and fit for pregnancy I could not shake this feeling I had that there was trouble ahead. At the time I suspected this trouble might be infertility.
After one month of trying Matthew and I had conceived. On... Read More

My name is Jenette and I had severe Pre-e with elevated liver enzymes.Â I didn't know I had symptoms until after I knew what Pre-e was. I remember 2-3 weeks before going to the hospital saying there was glitter in the sky at school. It literally looked like someone dumped glitter from the 2nd level. I'll try giving you the short story.Â On the evening Monday March 3rd 2008 (24 weeks 3 days) my mom decided to take my BP after a week of me complaining of headaches. She also said I... Read More

Oliver's Story
I remember when I found out I was pregnant, I was so shocked. I've always wanted to be a mom, we just did not think it would be that soon. It was the happiest moment of my life.Â
We did a few home pregnancy tests and they came back negative so I was not hopeful. But my partner was Â convinced I was. So we went to the GP, I went in on my own and made my partner wait outside. When the nurse started to do the pregnancy test it was the most agonizing 5 minutes of my life. At first the negative line came up, I definitely was not hopeful. The nurse assured me... Read More

In 2006 we found out that we would be expecting our 3rd child. We already had two boys, so I was really hoping that my 3rd would be a girl, since I assumed that would be my last. In May of 2006 we found out we were expecting a girl; I was so excited. My due date was 10/28/06, so I had to go through the whole summer. :( Everything was going well in the pregnancy; I was not considered high risk at the time. I had preeclampsia with the boys, but not until actual labor at 39 and 40 weeks, so they really had no reason to think that the pregnancy would be any different.
I continued to go to my monthly appointments and again everything was fine... then all of sudden around August 1, I... Read More

Well my name is Courtney and at the time I was 19 years old and found out January 2012 I was pregnant, later in January when I was 8 weeks pregnant, I found out I was pregnant with fraternal twins. I used to be a very small person but as the weeks went by I grew very fast. When I was 28 weeks pregnant I was the size of a single birth mother at 40 weeks. My pregnancy went great never had any complications at all things were going very smoothly. Oh and at 18 weeks I found out I was having two girls.Â
By the way my doctor never told me anything about preeclampsia at all, never read anything about it, I was completely unaware of it. On Friday August 9, 2012 I had my weekly regular... Read More

Our story began on Father's Day when we found out we were pregnant just after moving into our new home!Â The first trimester was a doozy!Â I threw up all day everyday and had many food aversions, but the first day of the second trimester felt amazing and was energized and able to actually eat!!!!Â Everything was great up untilÂ I went in for my checkup at 31 weeks and my blood pressure was elevated.Â I was sent home on bedrest and scared.Â The next morning my OBGYN called and said she didn't want to wait until monday to check me again and wanted to see me checked in at the hospital for observation.Â I am so glad she called by the time I got there my blood pressure was... Read More

I was ecstatic when I finally got a positive pregnancy test on Sept 11, 2011 after 2 yrs of ttc. Little did I know that my pregnancy and delivery would be life threatening and the most terrifying experience of my life.
At 8 weeks I had to go to the ER because of spotting. The docs diagnosed it as a threatened miscarriage and sent me home to wait it out. Well by the grace of God the spotting ended and I continued to carry my baby. I thought that was the most traumatizing experience I could have, but boy, was I wrong. At 22 wks, I notice my little boy had significantly stopped moving. So my doc hooked me up to the NST machine and found out the cord was around his neck. After much... Read More

I thought I would share my story of postpartum preeclampsia because prior to having it, I had never even heard of this condition!
It started back in 2000, with the pregnancy of our son, Jonah.Â Because it was my first pregnancy, I had no idea that I was having contractions at 34 weeks, I just thought the baby was "balling" up in me!!Â When I went for a check up and during the examination, the doctor could feel the contraction and asked if I had been having those regularly, "Um, yes forever!"Â That did it, complete bed rest until I delivered at 37 weeks, he was coming no matter what!Â Thank goodness, he was happy and healthy!Â We were sent home after 24 hours and we... Read More

When I found out I was pregnant my partner and I were both overjoyed; we were so happy and filled with excitement that we were in our own little bubble. This would be my second pregnancy and I didn't worry too much about any complications, my first child's labour had gone without a hitch , my son weighed a healthy 8lb 6oz and I was out of hospital that next evening. So I was hoping my 2nd labor would be similar.
Everything went well throughout the pregnancy except for normal pregnancy symptoms of nausea and tiredness. I took early maternity leave at 33 weeks due to having sciatica it was difficult to work as I had to stand most of the day. I started aqua natal once a week which I... Read More

Our story began on January 13, 2004, at the age of 21Â I learned I was pregnant with my first child. On April 5th, I learned my baby was a girl. I fit none of the typicalÂ risk factors for preeclampsia or eclampsia, except that it was my first pregnancy. My pregnancy was perfect until mid May, I began experiencing terrible headaches, noticeable swelling and pain that would not abate no matter what I did or what kind of medicine I took, and horrendous nausea, vomiting and heartburn.Â I reported these symptoms to the midwife who told me to cut down my salt intakeÂ (interesting thing to say to someone whoÂ can't keep anything down)! I had been readingÂ Â "What to Expect when... Read More

I was very excited to learn I was pregnant with my daughter in Jan. 2011.Â I was then 40 years old.Â I have always been very healthy, so I had no concerns about my own well-being; my concerns were focused solely on my baby's health because I had conceived older than I had initially anticipated.Â Most of my pregnancy was wonderful. The first health issue came at about the 6 month point.Â I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, but I was able to keep this under control throughout the remainder of the pregnancy with diet and did not have to take any medication.Â Later that month and into my 7th month, I began to swell in my legs.Â Because we were having such a hot... Read More

As my story goes, it all started with my first pregnancy back in 2009. I found out I was pregnant at 10 weeks after my ex beat me, so a little over two months when I found out. Everything seemed to be going great: she was just starting to move around and I could feel the little flutters of her flipping around in my tummy. At 15 weeks I ended up in the ER with strong cramps not feeling well, and the cold sweatsâ€¦ I knew something wasnâ€™t right. So I went in; they told me everything was fine and it was just a UTI and sent me on my merry little way.
Couple weeks later I felt like I had the flu, so I was back in the ER. Heartbeat was... Read More

I had preeclampsia which was not noticed and then I had HELLP syndrome. I had not read much about it while I was pregnant. The doctor had told me that my baby was measuring in the 10th percentile at my ultrasound. I had swelling of my one leg and my face, I also had a rash on my back. The doctor said these were all normal. But she had sent me for a more in-depth ultrasound and a stress test. I went for those and before we got the results she asked me to go before the weekend on Friday just in case because the blood flow was right at the dot. Any lower and we would've been induced.
By the time I showed up on Friday, I had been having really bad chest pains where I couldn't even... Read More

I am a survivor of postpartum eclampsia. 5 days after giving birth to our little girl Madysin, I developed the worst migraine ever. Knowing I couldn't take care of her due to the horrible pain, I called my mom. She came over to help, called my ob and he prescribed me pain pills. The next day I felt thumping in my ears, still having the horrible migraine, so we decided to go to the ER. As I was getting dressed, I told my mom I needed to try and brush my teeth. I held my toothbrush in one hand and the toothpaste in another but I started crying... I had no idea how or what to do next something: so simple and easy, I couldn't figure out. I went and sat on the edge of my bed and was telling... Read More

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